Friday, October 23, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: What is the game, an abbreviated military march? Yes, CPT OBVIOUS! (Drat, HG linked that already this week!)

We return to our prolific Friday phenom, Jeffrey, with a simple-looking theme and tons of fun fill. Each in-the- language phrase is re-imagined "on the base" with the three-letter abbreviation for the military rank replacing the first word of the phrase. The original phrases are all very recognizable and the grid has a fairly standard look. The fill ‒ including long ones like BEGONIA, EMANATE, DOG BITES, ONE IN TWO, POLLSTER, and SWEPT OUT ‒ once again presents JW's affinity for multi-word fill with some of the six-letter answers like AS I CAN, BIG APE, BITMAP, DUCATS, PIMPLE, SEABED, TAKE ME and TIN EAR sparkly. The use of cheater squares to balance the 13-letter fill makes this all come together. Let's feast.

19A. Familiar material, on the base? : GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (12). The clue and fill are straightforward -- only the shortening brings in the military.

26A. Backbone of capitalism, on the base? : PRIVATE ENTERPRISE (13).  LINK.

42A. Disciplinary action, on the base? : CORPORAL PUNISHMENT (13). Remember these? LINK.

48A. Important find, on the base? : MAJOR DISCOVERY (12).

Across:

1. Locale of TV's Krusty Krab restaurant : SEABED. From Sponge Bob to reality...

7. "The Hitch-Hiker" director Lupino : IDA. An all male cast; really easy fill but who remembers this movie?

10. Meatless lasagna ingredient, perhaps : TOFU. Because spinach would not fit. A puzzle rich in INFORMATION.

14. "I wanna go too!" : TAKE ME.

15. Presumed threats to letter carriers : DOG BITES.

17. " ... according to my abilities" : AS I CAN.

18. Half, statistically : ONE IN TWO. You had a one in two chance of getting this right.

21. __ loss : AT A.

22. The Hammer of baseball : AARON. Hmmerin' Hank, yes...

31. Natural mole fur hue : TAUPE. Really? The French word for mole is TAUPE.  The moles we had in Connecticut had darker coats.

33. Balm source : ALOE.

34. Hand analog : PAW.

35. Fruity quaffs : ADES. A mini CSO for moi.

36. "Actions speak louder than words," e.g. : MAXIM. Saying, adage, aphorism, proverb, motto, saw, axiom, dictum, precept, epigram; truism, cliché.

38. Short pooch, for short : PEKE. Pekingese, the Chinese Lion Dog. The look sad to me.

39. It's hardly a smash : LOB. Not a flop or bomb, but a tennis term.

40. Lowlands feature : DALE.

41. __ metabolism : BASAL. Time to fix your BODY.

46. Undemonstrative sort : STOIC.

47. Med. recording : ECG.

56. Cleaned, in a way : SWEPT OUT.

59. Lethargy cause : ANEMIA. The old iron deficiency anemia.

60. One assessing sentiment : POLLSTER. Please no robocalls! Last election is why I gave up my home phone.

61. Digital image format : BITMAP. Not a word I KNEW.

62. It keeps the team together : YOKE.

63. Calculating : SLY.

64. Studio equipment : EASELS. Art studio,  not music.

Down:

1. Companion to Artemis : STAG.  Famous  ART.

2. Simplicity : EASE.

3. Related : AKIN.

4. 2014 Best Rock Album Grammy winner : BECK. This was hard because Led Zepplin won last year.

5. Spring (from) : EMANATE. Nice word.

6. Mean : DENOTE. One of those needless ten dollar words, if you mean mean say mean.

7. Teen __ : IDOL. Wolf anyone? Michael Landon?  Michael J, Fox?

8. "And there you have it!" : DONE. Not even close.

9. Old : AGED.

10. Problem for a conductor wannabe : TIN EAR.

11. 1930s-'40s slugger : OTT. Mel is back.

12. Limited : FEW.

13. Mil. morale booster : USO.

16. Oaf : BIG APE.

20. Lacking color : WAN.

23. Best for consumption, perhaps : RIPEST.

24. Panasonic headquarters city : OSAKA. And why should I know this? Wait for the perps.

25. Staircase support : NEWEL.

26. Southwestern community : PUEBLO.

27. No. twos : VPS. BMS  fit.

28. Perennial political debate subject : TAXES.

29. Priest in 1 Samuel : ELI.

30. N.T. book written by Paul : ROMans.

31. Soothing applications : TALCS.

32. Add to the family : ADOPT.

36. "What a piece of work is a __!": Hamlet : MAN. A very simple Will quote for JW.

37. Legendary fighter : ALI.

38. Broadway flier : PAN.

40. Coins of old Venice : DUCATS. Gold or silver coins used as a trade coin in Europe from the later medieval centuries until as late as the 20th century. Also slang for tickets.

41. Colorful tropical perennial : BEGONIA. Very colorful.

43. Clearasil target : PIMPLE.

44. Guys : HES.

45. Mrs. Miller's partner in a 1971 Altman film : MC CABE.  Wonderful Julie Christie.

49. Scribbles : JOTS. My meh fill.

50. Hamilton's undoing : DUEL. Death more than undoing. HISTORY.

51. Modest sentence : I TRY. Week after week.

52. November honorees : VETS. My in-laws were married on November 8, so we took them to NYC for their anniversary; when there was a huge Veteran's Day parade, my FIL, an ex-Marine from WWII thought we had planned that as well.

53. Rylan of "Guiding Light" : EMME. A complete unknown but sweet looking.

54. Currency of Iran : RIAL. Rially.

55. Doesn't shut up : YAPS.

56. Le Carré figure : SPY. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold was my first real spy novel.

57. Ply with flowers and chocolate : WOO.

58. JFK was one : ELK, I did not know this trivia,  though it looks more like another Kennedy monogram.

Man the weeks are flying by along with the years; my Charlotte turns 3 before next week's blog. And Harper will be one month. Thanks Jeffrey for another fun Friday, I think this is about 30 of your puzzles since I first blogged you back in February 2013. Happy fall all. Lemonade out from here at 

special thanks to a very special John Lampkin.

Note from C.C.: 

Crosswords LA Tournaments will be held tomorrow (Oct 24, 2015, Saturday) at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. You don't need to be a wizard solver to participate. As you can see, they have four brackets for different skill levels. Or you can just be a spectator, solving at the same time with other competitors but your grids won't be scored.

It's an annual charity event Elissa Grossman started in 2009 to raise money for Reading to Kids. I hope our readers in LA area will attend the event and mingle with your favorite constructors, bloggers & fellow solvers.

Friday, October 16, 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Tiny puns.

Mark B, is back with simple concept, where phrases which include a diminutive, are re-imagined by witty cluing. I found a couple to be very funny, but it did not feel entirely like a theme. His July effort which was on a Friday used legal terms which were clued in non-legal ways. Here the size aspect is vital to both the base phrase and the new definition. I hope he stops by, as he often does, because I have a nagging feeling I missed something. The rest was an interesting mix of very hard fill and very easy answers. GLADIOLI, LOOKS BAD, IDIOT LIGHT,  and SUGAR SUGAR are the featured non-theme long fill. Let's see the rest.

17A. Hummingbird feature? : SMALL BILL (9). Do you have any ones on you, I want to buy some food for the hummingbirds, they have such short noses.

26A. Foothills? : SHORT RANGE (10). My drone does not go very far, it cannot get close to the mountains.

37A. Hot Wheels Volkswagen? : MINIATURE GOLF (12). I love this one. They actually EXIST. The seed entry, or maybe

50A. Potty-training tool? : LITTLE JOHN (10). Charlotte was out of diapers before she was two because of this device.

60A. Mouthpiece for a Lilliputian horse? : TEENSY BIT (9). Very cute.

Across:

1. Type of hippo : PYGMY. I spent way too much time trying to work this into the theme.

6. 59-Down product : ATM. I am not in favor of these gratuitous cross-references that make you look at the bottom of the puzzle this early. Not sure why this was needed.

9. Color guard accessory : SABER. The ceremonial sword.  Not a flower.

14. Child on TV for decades : JULIA. Ah, not that kind of Child, but the incomparable....

15. Virgo preceder : LEO. One of the easy ones.

16. "I'm here" : USE ME. This required the perps, not synonymous for me.

19. Enjoyed Vegas : GAMED. Not gambled...

20. Valley : DALE.

21. Place to live in Spain : CASA. House?

23. Sore feeling : IRE. Not achy but angry.

24. Purported ancestor of Ragnar Lothbrok on TV's "Vikings" : ODIN. I do not know this History Channel SERIES (3:15).

29. Crazy scene : ZOO. An unPC TERM now.

30. Call-day link : IT A. I wish I could; it has been a long week.

31. Value : ESTEEM.

32. Did a cobbler's job : SOLED. Shoe enough....

34. Stain : IMBRUE. To stain (something, especially one's hands or sword)."they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood." Mark keeps an extensive word list to build his puzzles. This is a Friday word.

41. Hoedown move : DO-SI-DO. A wonderful CSO for our recovering dancer, YR.

42. Taking place : AFOOT. Hmm, dancing, cobblers and now this....

44. Is in store for : AWAITS.

47. Pine product : TAR. We recently linked the George Brett pine tar incident.

49. Maker of the GreenSaver Produce Keeper : OXO.

53. Absolut rival : SKYY.  Vodka in a blue bottle.

54. Explosive letters : TNT.  har har.

55. Collector's __ : ITEM. See another easy one.

56. Reveals in an unwelcome way : OUTS. Speaking of unPC, is there any good context for this meaning?

58. Naming : ID-ING.  I guess when you are naming a perpetrator....

64. Nursery supply : MULCH.

65. Psyche component : EGO. Id and superego.

66. Hiding __ : PLACE.

67. No longer an item : APART.

68. Oversaw : RAN. The business.

69. Teamed (with) : SIDED.

Down:

1. Jams : PJS.

2. Good remark? : YUM. What you say when it is good.

3. Plants with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLI. More swords...

4. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

5. Everyone in Mississippi? : Y'ALL.

6. Big ring name : ALI. Muhammed.

7. AT&T, for short : TELCO. We had this before.

8. Grinder : MOLAR. Not the sandwich, the tooth. hard.

9. 1969 hit with the line "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR SUGAR. You want the Music VIDEO (3:02)?

10. Botanist Gray : ASA. No idea of this PIONEER, but he fits with the flowers.

11. Candy heart words : BE MINE. marti...

12. Show one's face : EMERGE.

13. Make amends for : REDEEM.

18. Outdo : BEST.

22. Volume measure : STERE. A cubic metre.

24. Abbr. on some cans : OZS. Ounces, also volume.

25. Hardly a happy ending : DOOM.

27. Where the Santa Maria sank, nowadays : HAITI. How many remember this HISTORY.

28. Dined on, biblically : ATE OF.

30. Dash warning : IDIOT LIGHT. Modern technology. LINK.

33. "I suggest you move on" : END IT.

35. Pie makeup? : MUD.

36. Stock : BROTH. The key to much cooking.

38. Plus : ASSET.

39. Doesn't exactly help one's reputation : LOOKS BAD.

40. Stunning or cunning : FOXY. One for Splynter? LINK.

43. One under a tree, maybe : TOY. Only 70 shopping days left  until Christmas.

44. Nissan sedan : ALTIMA.

45. Start of a pitch : WIND-UP.

46. Fifth-century Roman Empire enemy : ATTILA. Never really thought about when the Hun was at large.

48. In a little while : ANON. Our one Shakespeare hint this Friday.

51. 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year : JETER. Who knew...

52. Psi follower : OMEGA. Straight Greek alphabet.

53. Needles : STYLI. here it is Latin that matters, the I plural for us is needed.

57. Org. whose logo features an eagle head : USPS. United States Postal Service

59. 6-Across maker : NCR. National Cash Register.

61. Awfully long time : EON.

62. Rocks in a bucket : ICE. Look away Tinman....

63. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Technology Entertainment & Design. LINK. 

So we have reached the end of another Friday; thank you Mark, time to get ready for the beginning of the costume party season. Be careful out there, lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the joy and happiness you've brought to me and many regulars the past few years. You're our sunshine!

2) Happy Birthday to Bluehen as well! I'm stealing a picture Dave got for you last year.

3) Welcome back, PK! Irish Miss just emailed me about you the other day. Now we need to hear from Montana, who has not replied to my email yet. We're quite concerned.

Friday, October 9, 2015, Bruce Haight

Theme: A few quick NOTES.

I knew it was Friday and we were in for some shenanigans when I saw the blank grid with the three interesting shapes from NW to SE.  I was not immediately sure what they were, but having done Bruce's E puzzle, I was ready. The asterisks and the reveal made this doable but it was a challenge. Bruce has decided to create a six themer,with a reveal, where each 7 letter word has only letters which can be notes (A B C D E F and G). This one is a visual treat, with the short theme answers leaving room for a boatload of sparkly fill.  AKIHITO,  A LACK OF,  APOLLO I,  BAGGAGE, BUSSING,  DO I DARE,  EROTICA, GONERIL, LATINOS, OLEANNA.  ON TOP OF, RELEARN, POP-UP ADS,  BICAMERAL,  NATURALIST, POLICEWOMAN. These are not all easy, but they were fun. He also uses the downs to create triple stacks of 7s in each corner with the theme on the outside, intersecting with two double stacks. Add two 10 letter climbers and there is your puzzle. Bruce, I like your style. let's walk.

32A. *Vandalized, in a way : DEFACED (7). Like your street artists?

39A. *Head of the produce section? : CABBAGE (7). Lettuce dispense with bad vegetable puns, please!

1D. *Yielded : ACCEDED (7).

12D. *Place for oats : FEEDBAG (7). No horsing around.

36D. *Emotional burden : BAGGAGE (7). Looks like CABBAGE's evil twin.

42D. *Wiped out : EFFACED (7). I realize with the limitation of using only 7 letters things will look similar, but this and 32A are really close.
and the reveal

52A. They're graphically represented three times in this grid ... and the answers to starred clues are the six longest common words than can be spelled using only them : NOTES (5).

Across:

1. Stirs : ADOS.

5. He wrote about "a midnight dreary" : POE. Now, 170 years since publication; a sample:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

8. Gobble (up) : SNARF.

13. Die, with "out" : CONK. Like a car engine.

14. Blog entry : POST. Weekly.

15. Capital of India : RUPEE. We get both kinds back to back in this clecho.

16. Capital __ : CITY.

17. Colorful fish : OPAH. Also known as moonfish.

18. Took the wrong way? : STOLE. Nice clue.

19. Old Tokyo : EDO.

20. Haul to the kitchen, as groceries : LUG IN. I like the word lug, but no this fill.

22. Word before or after dog : SLED.  I do like the challenge of before and after words. 4D. Word before or after blue : SKY.

23. High-five relative : DAP. We had this fist bump recently.

24. Poison remedy : IPECAC. Now controversial emetic. LINK. And more next door clecho.

26. Poison test site : LAB.

27. Steamy stuff : EROTICA.

30. Queen of the Goths in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" : TAMORA. We get some Shakespeare almost every Friday.

33. Romantic activity : BUSSING. Great word; not affirmative action but "a kiss," 1560s; probably of imitative origin, as are Welsh and Gaelic bus "kiss, lip," French baiser "kiss" (12c., from Latin basiare), Spanish buz, German dialectal Buss. (Dictionary).

34. Words of wisdom : SAWS. Generally old ones.

35. Country on the Strait of Hormuz : IRAN.

36. Ravel classic : BOLERO. A brief X-rated scene

43. Old-style warning : ALARUM.

44. Rather little : A LACK OF.

45. Understand : GET. Ah, I get it.

46. Deli staple : SALAMI.

49. Like Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" : IN F.

50. Horse show concern : GAIT.

53. 2000 World Series venue : SHEA. The SUBWAY Series.

54. Yearbook, e.g. : ANNAL.

56. Bakery buy : TART.

57. Newspaper fig. : CIRCular.

58. Little garden party? : GNOME. Really cute clue for an ugly statue.

59. Mazatlán Mrs. : SRA. Senora.

60. End in __ : A TIE.

61. Facilitated : EASED.

62. Suffer : AIL.

63. Squealed : TOLD. My brothers and I learned early to never squeal on each other.

Down:

2. "Is it worth the risk?" : DO I DARE. Nice letter pattern and stack.

3. Knowledgeable about : ON TOP OF. Old Smokey?

5. Online annoyances : POP-UP ADS.

6. Oklahoma county in which a 2008 Pulitzer-winning drama is set : OSAGE. Anybody? LINK.

7. Work __ : ETHIC.

8. Many AARP mems. : SRS. Seniors,

9. "Darn it!" : NUTS.

10. Ill-fated 1967 mission : APOLLO I.  Sad HISTORY. HG?

11. Brush up on : RELEARN.

14. Member of the force : POLICEWOMAN. PEPPER was so spicy. 28D. 14-Down's need, at times : TASER.

21. Darwin, for one : NATURALIST. He ran around without clothes?

25. Fruit named for a Turkish town : CASABA. This MELON named for KASABA.

29. Legendary flier : ICARUS. Poor guy, it was his fall that made him famous.

31. "Morning Joe" airer : MSNBC. Do you watch?

33. Like Congress : BICAMERAL. Two bodies.

37. 1992 Mamet play : OLEANNA. And 1994 MOVIE.

38. Fast-growing U.S. ethnic group : LATINOS.

40. Reigning emperor of Japan : AKIHITO.


41. Regan's poisoner, in Shakespeare : GONERIL. An extra Will.

47. "__ luck!" : LOTSA.

48. Asteroids maker : ATARI.

51. Subdue : TAME.

53. "Buzz off!" : SCAT. I see scat for four legged animals, buzz off for two.

55. Went first : LED. In this case, out the door as another week has passed. Thanks Bruce for your semi-annual Friday LAT. Another week, on that note.... Lemonade out.

Friday, October 2, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Que pasa? Que sera sera!

JW is back with an add on theme where QUE is added to the end of a word to completely change the meaning of a word or phrase. Three add the que at the end of the phrase, with two adding to the middle of a word creating a two word answer. Four feature "I" before the add on, with one A. I love the first three in the theme. I also love the gridspanner in the middle. The rest of the fill is very good with ABOUND, ANUBIS, BEAT UP,  EX-PROS, GULDEN, OCEANS, TAIPEI, TRIBAL, ADRENALIN,  AQUA REGIA, FULL MOONS, HEARTBURN examples and some Friday fill like BIOTA and TOQUE. As always, JW makes us work to decipher some of the fill, but is Friday, so let us have at it.

18A. Angry young man's fate? : LIFE OF PIQUE (11).  The book Life of Pi became a worldwide best seller and movie after many rejections.

24A. Hercules, e.g.? : ANTIQUE HERO (11). Anti-hero (or antihero) has been a literary theme from Don Quixote through Marlon Brando, but while an ancient story, there is nothing but hero about Hercules.  (1:25).

39A. Result of a Caribbean sanitation strike? : DIRTY MARTINIQUE (15). My favorite of the theme, both for the drink and a reminder of the horrible volcanic eruption in 1902 that made one PRISONER famous.

56A. Proprietary paperwork? : UNIQUE FORMS (11). Uniforms.

62A. Ready-to-hang Cubist painting? : WIRED BRAQUE (11). A really creative one, with a very famous contemporary of Picasso (Georges Braque) brought to life from an under-wire bra, which he probably never painted.  IMAGE.

Across:

1. "I don't like it!" : BAH. Oddly, my first thought of which I was quite unsure.

4. Waikiki allure : SURF. There are other  sights to see. LINK.(4:12).

8. Like an old jalopy : BEAT UP.

14. Chemical suffix : IDE. A compound.

15. Hesse-based automaker : OPEL. We have seen this German automaker more often than I have seen their cars. And a semi-clecho: 33A. Ingolstadt-based automaker : AUDI. More Germany 46A. Einstein's birth city : ULM. In southern Germany near the Danube.

16. Reporter's coup : EXPOSE. This was harder without imagining the accent.

17. Man-mouse link : OR A.

20. Hill stint : TERM. Capital Hill for politicians.

22. Hershey bar : SKOR. Back again I must get one.

23. Bygone political entity that included Syr. : UAR. The short lived alliance between Egypt and Syria. United Arab Republic.

28. South African golfer with four major championships : ELS. A CSO to our own Big Easy.

29. Be quite prevalent : ABOUND.

30. Polite response to Aunt Polly : YES'M. A reference to Tom Sawyer's aunt, I guess, which fits with 35A. Crude carrier : RAFT.

32. Seasonal affliction : FLU.

44. Poet Sexton : ANNE. One of many creative people who could not control the demons that made them great. LINK.

45. Popular melt meat : TUNA. Yum.

47. 50-50, to Fifi : EGAL. Equal in French.

51. __ Council: "Survivor" feature : TRIBAL. Never watched an episode.

53. Rush : HIE. A nice Shakespeare word.

59. "Well done!" analog : OLE.

60. Pacific feast : LUAU. In Waikiki?

61. Drudge : PEON. So many words for the put upon.

67. Indian state that was part of a former Portuguese colony : GOA. They are famous for their beaches.

68. Tamsui River capital : TAIPEI.

69. Excited about, with "on" : KEEN. A 50s word.

70. "Monsters, __" : INC.

71. Magellan's milieux : OCEANS. He was going round and round.

72. Breyers competitor : EDYS. Yum.

73. Require : ASK. Not want your country can do for you....

Down:

1. Regional organisms : BIOTA. Not a term I am really familiar with so my start was slow.

2. Stimulant trademark : ADRENALIN.  Synthetic epinephrine which has become more popular than the original adrenaline; quite the rush.

3. Jalapeño product, for some? : HEARTBURN. This is our medical corner with pyrosis, cardialgia, or acid indigestion as other names for the burning sensation in the chest. Per wiki.

4. San José sun : SOL. Spanish.

5. News org. : UPI. United Press International.

6. Court charge caller : REF. Basketball court.

7. Soft tissue : FLESH.

8. In front of : BEFORE.

9. Many sports commentators : EX-PROS. Nice letter string XPR, but conflict with clues below.

10. Bee: Pref. : API. From whence comes Apiary, etc.

11. Chapeau seen in "Ratatouille" : TOQUE. A gratuitous bonus QUE

12. Quotidian : USUAL. Not one of your usual clues, this means daily. Latin comes in handy.

13. Jury members : PEERS. Such a strange concept.

19. "__-doke!" : OKEY. Okey dokey smokey.

21. Apennines possessive : MIO. Italian, a region and history I did not know. LINK.

25. Ship loading site : QUAY.

26. Word on a bill : UNUM. E pluribus....

27. Old writings mentioning Odin : EDDA.

31. Open __ : MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

32. Org. requiring milk pasteurization : FDA. Food and Drug Administration.

34. The Bronx's Jerome Ave. line is part of it : IRT. Interborough Rapid Transit. the SUBWAY.

36. Mixture that dissolves gold : AQUA REGIA. Latin for royal water; the question is why do you want to dissolve gold?

37. Rare twosome of July 2015 : FULL MOONS. The even rarer three full moons?  LINK.

38. Pro __ : TEM. Followed immediately with the clecho

40. Pro's support : TEE. Then staying in the Ts.

41. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner : TUTU. The Anglican Bishop DESMOND.

42. Regarding : IN RE. More Latin.

43. Innocent : NAIF. A guileless, unsophisticated person: babe, child, ingénue, innocent. Same stem as naive.

48. Big name in mustard : GULDEN. Their spicy brown is the third largest in the US behind French's and Grey Poupon.

49. Wolf-headed god : ANUBIS. This is the Greek name for the Egyptian god.

50. One covering tracks, perhaps : LIAR. Liar pants on fire.

52. Hit on the head : BOP.

53. Book with steps : HOW  TO.

54. __ crest: pelvic border : ILIAC.

55. Like H.P. Lovecraft stories : EERIE.

57. Tremble : QUAKE.

58. Oreos, say : SNACK.

63. Org. monitoring endangered species : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

64. Letters of proof : QED. EVERYONE must know this by now.

65. Turn that's hung : UEY.

66. Chekov's "Star Trek" rank: Abbr. : ENSign. Before he became a Captain and an Admiral.

Well another week and month have slipped away, I hope everyone on the east coast is kept safe from Joaquin. I wonder if Mr. Trump will blame that on Mexico as well? No politics. just silliness.

I am tired from the excitement of the new baby, so off to rest; lemonade out.

Friday, September 25, 2015, Amy Johnson

Theme: That joke went over like a lead balloon.

Amy J. comes to Friday after many Sunday and Monday LAT appearances. A conventional Friday with humorous clue/fill combinations based on the nature of certain professions. All are witty, but not laugh out loud for me. The puzzle also had some unknowns, and some very difficult cluing in places as well lots of longish fill like HOFFMAN, KODIAKS, RETORTS,  UP TO PAR, PRISTINE, STEAMERS, FULLY GROWN, IN THE STARS. I will be interested to see what you all thought of this puzzle with no gimmicks, just challenges; so let's go.

20A. The joke at the audiologists' convention __ : FELL ON DEAF EARS (14). Is this insensitive?

26A. The joke at the chemists' convention __ : GOT NO REACTION (13). My favorite.

44A. The joke at the firefighters' convention __ : WENT UP IN SMOKE (13). This burned me up.

52A. The joke at the cashiers' convention __ : DID NOT REGISTER (14). Cash registers really do not exist in most stores.

Across :

1. Better protected : SAFER.

6. "Poppycock!" : PISH. I was surprised to learn this term came from the 1500s, with so many modern versions (pish posh, pish tosh, pish and tish etc.)

10. Badlands Natl. Park site : SDAK. Be careful of all the outlaws in South Dakota.

14. Coarse : CRUDE.

15. Suspicious of : ON TO. I think of suspicious as not knowing for sure, and onto as being sure.

16. Pup follower? : TENT.  The HISTORY. Apparently the Civil War soldiers who used them thought when set up they looked like a kennel.

17. Up for grabs, in a way : UNLET. Really tenuous tenant connection, very hard for short fill.

18. Lit. intro : PREFace.

19. "Willard" antagonists : RATS. I thought they were the stars?

23. Solo, say : FLY. All pilots look for their first solo flight.

24. Indian author Santha Rama __ : RAU. I have never been aware of this WRITER.

25. Century-starting year : MMCI. In her NYT debut, Amy commented she did not like using Roman numerals; random answers like this are the problem.

32. Not treat lightly : STRESS.

34. Normandy river : ORNE. Just one the many four letter European rivers you need to know to do puzzles.

35. "Defending Our Nation. Securing The Future" org. : NSA. They not only protect but they create puzzles for BILL G and others. LINK.

36. __ swings : MOOD.

37. "POV" airer : PBS. My TV watching is way down but THIS has promise.

38. Extreme degrees : NTHS.

39. "The Trumpet of the Swan" monogram : EBW.
Not as famous as Stuart Little perhaps but an E.B. White children's book which is also a movie.

40. Boxed dozen : JURY. Really nice Friday misdirection as no doughnuts or bagels here and juror do sit in the box.

42. Vail topper : SKI HAT. One of the many Colorado resorts. CSO our missing miss m.

47. Part of a friskiness metaphor : OATS. All you wanted to know about sowing WILD ones.

48. Jersey's chew : CUD. Very cute cow clue, not an old Soprano's reference

49. "The Simpsons" leisure suit wearer : STU.

56. Not even close : COLD. From the old, am I getting closer game.

57. Lightest meson : PION. Someone please explain to me as my knowledge is just from wiki.  In particle physics, a pion (or a pi meson, denoted with the Greek letter pi: π) is any of three subatomic particles: π0, π+, and π−. Each pion consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson

58. Ex-TV host Stewart : ALANA. Married to Rod and George Hamilton

59. Kick back : LOLL.

60. Required bet : ANTE.

61. "R.U.R." writer Capek : KAREL. With JzB's write up Wednesday, everyone should know this author and his famous play which introduced the word ROBOT.

62. Language that gave us "bard" : ERSE. If you want the 'simple' answer, wiki says Erse can be: an alternative name for any Goidelic language, especially Irish, from Erische. a 16th-19th Century Scots name for Scottish Gaelic.

63. Old Royale 8's : REOS. An impressive looking car.

64. Gambling aids: Abbr. : SYSTSems. I know many a poor man who designed a 'perfect' blackjack system.

Down

1. Shining target : SCUFF. My mind went to the movies, not my shoes.

2. Journey frontman Pineda : ARNEL. How do you replace Steve Perry? Apparently with a 5'4" Filipino singer. LINK.

3. Mature : FULLY GROWN. I like this fill even if Arnel and I never got very tall.

4. Henry James biographer : EDEL. This multi-volume work was Leon's career. LINK. Having this name and Arnel crossing made getting the first theme fill very tricky.

5. Backtalk : RETORTS.

6. The Carpenters, e.g. : POP DUO. Her life was so tragic.

7. Regarding : IN RE. Latin.

8. Mississippi travelers : STEAMERS. The river, not the state. Not sure I have heard the term used this way.

9. "Meet the Fockers" co-star : HOFFMAN. Dustin and Barbra were pretty entertaining.

10. Channel relative : STRAIT.

11. Word John doesn't want to see? : DEAR. The kiss off letter.

12. They're seen in columns : ANTS. This old trick did not fool me this time.

13. Lapidary's meas. : KTS. A lapidary is a person who cuts, polishes, or engraves gemstones and KT is the abbreviation for the purity of gold (karat) not the weight of gems (carat). Hmmm.

21. Some flatbreads : NANS.

22. Nero's "Behold!" : ECCE. Latin.

27. Ref. shelf filler : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

28. Singer Rihanna's first name : ROBYN. No idea. This Barbados born GIRL has been awesomely successful.

29. Where a love story may be written : IN THE STARS. Star-crossed lovers, the Fault in Our Stars...all too sad.

30. Workers' rights org. : OSHA,  Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

31. Tweed lampooner : NAST. The political cartoonist. READ.

32. Drake, maybe : SMEW. We have had this duck before, though many might of thought about Serena Williams' boyfriend who started on Degrassi.

33. Start of a dramatic question : TO BE or not to be. A small does of WS.

37. Like new snow : PRISTINE. Such clean perfect fill.

38. End to peace? : NIK. Beat...Neat...This suffix comes from the Eastern European word meaning "one who" but some credit its popularity to the launch of the Sputnik.

40. Evita's man : JUAN. Peron...they liked poodles.

41. As expected : UP TO PAR. As opposed to over par, par value and other reasons why English is so hard to learn.

42. Complacent : SMUG. I like this word.

43. Grizzly Alaskans? : KODIAKS. Can you bear these clues?

45. Walk wearing Luvs : TODDLE.

46. Dramatic units : SCENES.

50. Principle : TENET.

51. Dividing range : URALS. They divide Europe and Asia, but my mind went to Australia first.

52. When one __ closes ... : DOOR. Another hits you in the....on your way out.

53. Hardly blessed events : ILLS. meh.

54. Till opener : ROTO. A motorized way to turn your soil.

55. Crack up : SLAY. The reactions when the jokes are funny.

56. NFL team with a home field bleachers section called the Dawg Pound : CLEveland Browns. The second generation, they often wear dog masks.

Welcome to Friday Amy, look forward to more. Thanks everyone and I hope you are enjoying fall.

Friday, September 18, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: You need to get down on it! (5:11).

An add-a-word puzzle, with a great reveal. JW is back again with a passel of theme words and a really wonderfully amusing reveal. 34A. Annoyed moviegoer's shout ... or what's needed to make sense of the answers to starred clues : DOWN IN FRONT which tells you that DOWN is added to the front of each theme fill to solve the clue. A true Friday theme with added twist of 1A beginning the fun. This is as close as Rich gets to a rebus (multi-letter in a block) puzzle, only the letters are not anywhere but in your mind. Because of the asterisks the puzzle became very doable once you see your first "down" word. If you did not catch on when you finished the top row you were in for a long solve.  The NW corner with two 7s and an 8 make starting slow. But this does give us some fun fill like AMOROSO, CAREFUL, CORRECT, DATA SET, FORESEE, NICOSIA, OVERPAY, SPUTTER, SIDE ROAD and TIRESOME.

1A. *Dejected : DOWNCAST (4). I guess the expression comes from tilting the eyes and head down.

5A. *Sledding spot : DOWNGRADE (5). Visual.

10A. *Waterloo : DOWNFALL (4). Fall again but totally different meaning, don't you love English.

31A. *Data transfer : DOWNLOAD (4). A word that did not exist when I started doing puzzles.

40A. *Faster way to fly : DOWNWIND (4). On the par 5s....

63A. *1964 Grammy-winning rock 'n' roll song : DOWNTOWN(4). What else...

64A. *Decrease : DOWNSWING (5). Back on the par 5....

65A. *Musical starting point : DOWNBEAT (4). Downbeat, the first beat of a measure in music.


Across:

14. Enclosed in : AMID.

15. Electrical component : RELAY. Not a RACE.

16. Seaman's direction : ALEE.

17. 9-Down sensors : RODS. Eyes have rods and CONES.

18. Midwestern tribe : OSAGE.

19. Show appreciation, in a way : CLAP.

20. "You shall hear more __ morning": "Measure for Measure" : ERE. Ah, the Shakespeare appearance; this did not require knowing the play. Not my favorite play.

21. Shows a preference : OPTS.

22. Amethyst source : GEODE.

23. Prognosticate : FORESEE.

25. Struggling engine sound : SPUTTER.

27. Me.-to-Fla. highway : US ONE. I live 33 steps from this highway.

28. Freudian subject : DREAM.

30. '60s radical gp. : SDS. A fun group from college.

32. Crockett's Waterloo : ALAMO. A clecho to 10A.

39. Onetime Silly String maker : WHAMO.

43. Seafarer : TAR.

46. Bygone dentifrice : IPANA. Bucky beaver lives on.

48. "Twelfth Night" servant : MARIA. More Shakespeare, Maria is Olivia's lady in waiting and a central character.

49. Deserve credit, perhaps : OVERPAY.

51. "Yes" : CORRECT.

53. Ancient Iranians : MEDES. You want to READ?

54. Thing on a bob : LURE.

55. "__ guy walks into ... " : SO A. Guy walks into a bar and sits at a table. Tells the waitress, "I'll have a Bloody Mary and a menu." When she returns with his drink, he asks "Still servin' breakfast?" When she says Yes, he replies, "Then I'll have two eggs-runny on top and burnt on the bottom, five strips of bacon ON END-well done on one end and still raw on the other, two pieces of burnt toast and a cold cup of coffee." Indignantly the waitress says, "We don't serve that kinda stuff in here!" Guy says, "Funny... that's what I had in here yesterday..."

56. Actress Russell : KERI.

57. Dinnertime attraction : AROMA.

59. __ stick: incense : JOSS. Did you see this PRACTICE growing up C.C. ? (From C.C.: Indeed. Burning incense (and fake paper money) for the dead is quite common.)

60. Rare blood type, briefly : A-NEG.

61. Memento : TOKEN.

62. Fifi's BFF : AMIE. French for friend, with E because it is a feminine friend.

Down:

1. "Watch out!" : CAREFUL.

2. Spanish sherry : AMOROSO.

3. Rush hour timesaver, hopefully : SIDE ROAD. How often do I get lost on my shortcuts?

4. QB's stats : TDS. TouchDowns are back! Every AFC East team won.

5. Feel one's way : GROPE. I got slapped over that one.

6. Took it easy : RESTED.

7. "Fate is so cruel!" : ALAS.

8. Peer of Trygve and Kofi : DAG. He died young. LINK.

9. Looker? : EYE.

10. Aspect : FACET.

11. Metes out : ALLOTS.

12. Bygone pump word : LEADED.

13. Middle Ages colony residents : LEPERS.

21. Sugar suffix : OSE.

22. Marx of lesser repute : GUMMO. He was replaced by Zeppo in 1915.  The brothers, can you name them?

24. Provide, as with talent : ENDOW.

25. Lifestyle magazine : SELF.

26. Host noted for a 1960 on-air resignation : PAAR.

29. Was loquacious : RAN ON. Yeah, that's it- loquacious!

33. Classic military text by Carl von Clausewitz : ON WAR. The SUMMARY.

35. Legislative VIPs : WHIPS.

36. Touristy viticultural valley : NAPA.

37. Indecisive comment : I MAY. I may not.

38. Hardly fascinating : TIRESOME.

41. Capital of Cyprus : NICOSIA. The city has a HISTORY.

42. Statistical matrix, e.g. : DATA SET.

43. Cruise partnership nickname : TOMKAT. I mention Tom and his ex Ms. Holmes in another JW; a crush?

44. L'Oréal competitor : AVEENO. This time of year this comes to mind for me

45. Altered, as a map : REDREW.

47. Mental wherewithal : ACUMEN.

48. GI grub : MRE. Meals Ready to Eat.

50. Wield power : REIGN.

52. Endangered Sumatran : ORANG.

54. Mythical troublemaker : LOKI.

57. Compact Cadillac sedan : ATS. This car.

58. Dustup : ROW. A common term across the pond.

59. Hook relative : JAB. Boxing terms.

Well we  were treated to another JW that made us work and use our imaginations and I enjoyed it. Happy holidays to all and Lemonade out.

Friday, September 11, 2015, Patti Varol

Theme: A pass/fail puzzle, unless you understand  all the variations of pass, you fail.

A new puzzle from Patti Varol, who is Rich Norris' assistant at the LAT. C.C. did a nice INTERVIEW back in 2013. This style of cross-referential cluing is reminiscent of a 2012 Friday presentation which I believe was the first of her puzzles that I blogged. In this case the single word which is the clue for the four long answers is PASS which appears as the last Across clue, but has no clue.  There is room for a lot of fun fill like ANTHEM, BUTTES, (which reappears immediately after last week's duty in the theme) CONFAB,  DENOTE, LOUISA,  MOREAU,  ONIONY, ENTHUSE, NUANCES,  RAN AMOK,  UTENSIL, BROWBEAT and TIRAMISU. As someone who gets to read all of the submissions to the LAT Ms. Varol has a sense of what is fresh. I know many do not like cross-references, but I think you will like this Friday frolic.

20A. See 69-Across : FOOTBALL THROW (13). The forward PASS changed football forever.

34A. See 69-Across : MAKE THE GRADE (12). Important both in school and in life. Does pass/fail stunt learning? With all of our teachers out there, does competing for a grade improve performance?

41A. See 69-Across : SKIP ONE'S TURN (12). A term familiar to all who play bridge or any other bidding game; can you skip your turn in Monopoly?

56A. See 69-Across : MOUNTAIN ROUTE (13). There are so many famous mountain passes, but did you know the TOPOGRAPHY?

And the common clue

69A. Clue for four puzzle answers : PASS.

Across:

1. Some UPS deliveries : CODS. No, Splynter is not bringing fish to your home, or an outdated male garment.  Historically, the term was Cash On Delivery, but UPS has repurposed it as Collect On Delivery, getting the payment and forwarding to its customers.

5. First Homeland Security secretary : RIDGE. It is impossible to not think of this MAN on this anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, and equally impossible to discuss without venturing into politics.

10. Help badly? : ABET.

14. Scott Turow title : ONE L.

15. "I don't give __" : A DARN. Even Rhett was more emphatic than that.

16. It may be hard to resist : URGE. So, why resist?

17. One in una escuela primaria : NINO. Spanish for boy or child in primary school.

18. Like two Tim Lincecum games : NO HIT. There have been six in June, July and August this year. A complete LIST.

19. Senate garment : TOGA. Fun misdirection did not fool me.

23. Country song : ANTHEM.

24. __ generis : SUI. Latin for 'of its own kind.' In the law, it is used to identify a specific party in litigation.

25. Word with band or toy : BOY. N'sync or Backstreet Boys?

28. "Peace out" : BYE.

29. Struggling with a choice : TORN.

32. Hardly friendly looks : SNEERS.

36. Idaho motto word : ESTO. Really needed perps to get this. Esto perpetua is Latin for 'let it be forever.'

39. Theater funding gp. : NEA. This time it is the National Endowment for the Arts. LINK.

40. "... like __ not" : IT OR.

46. Doctor with an island of Beast Folk : MOREAU. The wonderful mind of H.G. Wells.

47. Idée source : TETE. Did anyone do David Steinberg's puzzle last week about heads? Awesome.

48. Butcher's units: Abbr. : LBS.

51. Progressive __ : ERA.

52. Gives birth to : HAS. On alert for the birth of my second grandchild. Trying hard to keep up with Kazie.

54. Enjoy the bistro : EAT OUT.

60. Home to many Indians : ASIA.

62. Indianapolis pros : COLTS.

63. Wrap alternative : PITA.

64. Staff at sea : MAST. Not much sailing talk these days, Spitzboov?

65. Food inspector's concern : E. COLI.

66. Showing wear : USED.

67. And : PLUS.

68. "Hamlet" prop : SKULL. Alas, poor Yorick...


Down:

1. Informal chat : CONFAB. A really fun word; from the Latin root that gives us fable.

2. Like some dips : ONIONY.  Just an adjective.

3. Symbolize : DENOTE. A five dollar word.

4. Critter that sleeps upside down : SLOTH. Kinda cute sleeping.

5. Went berserk : RAN AMOK. Amok comes from a Malay word; this is the national language of Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It is spoken by 270 million people, per wiki.

6. Screen VIP : IDOL.

7. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" author : DAHL. Roald wrote so many twisted tales.

8. Breakfast side : GRITS. learned to enjoy them at Skeeter's in Gainesville.

9. Speak with passion : ENTHUSE.

10. Start to focus? : AUTO. Autofocus.

11. Bully : BROWBEAT. An interesting word around since the 1500s.

12. Frittata base : EGG.

13. Leaves in a bag : TEA. In the bag, not left in the bag.

21. Interim software phase : BETA. There really is alpha TESTING.

22. Digital band : RING. Not music but on a finger.

26. Great Seal word : ORDO. Novus ordo seclorum ( "New order of the ages") appears on the back of every one dollar bill so you should recognize the term. If you want more READ.

27. Strategic European river of 1914 : YSER. The BATTLE.

30. Former Quebec premier Lévesque : RENE.  This MAN died 28 years ago.

31. Arms control subj. : N-TEST. I wonder why I get so many bomb related fill.

33. Land with "her back towards Britain, her face to the West," in a William Drennan poem : ERIN. Not familiar  with Poem but it was an easy guess.

34. Brood : MOPE. Most teenagers do lots of this.

35. Not fancy at all : HATE. In the British sense....

36. Miss Megley's charge, in a Salinger story : ESME.

37. Chocolate-and-toffee bar : SKOR. I have seen it but never bought it and I love chocolate.

38. Layered dessert : TIRAMISU. Only the GARNISH is chocolate for this classic.

42. Waimea Bay locale : OAHU.

43. Easy things to overlook : NUANCES. Very subtle.

44. Diner's need : UTENSIL.

45. Slowpoke's place : REAR.

48. Creator of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy : LOUISA. May Alcott's Little Women.

49. Flat-topped formations : BUTTES. A gimme if you paid attention last week.

50. Places : STEADS.

53. Seller's supply : STOCK.

55. Freshen, as a drink : TOP UP. Never top off.

57. Stable diet : OATS.

58. Giants manager before Bochy : ALOU. Felipe, the oldest brother.

59. "__ be all right" : IT'LL. Do you prefer ROCK or POP ?

60. Juice unit : AMP. Juice as electricity.

61. ESPN reporter Paolantonio : SAL. I am glad I did not have to spell his last name.

Well on that embarrassing note, I wish you all a good week end and remember all the brave people who came to the fore in 9/11 and let them inspire us all to be better people. For those who celebrate the New Year, L' shana Tovah. Lemonade 714 out.

We had dinner last night with Chairman Moe at a local French restaurant, merveilleux!

Notes from C.C.:

1) I'm so pleased to see you guys meet again, Chairman Moe and Lemonade!

2) Happy Birthday to Husker Gary, my tenacious & always eager-to-learn friend and puzzle collaborator. I never heard him complain about life or anything during his three stays at the hospital a few months ago. He's a fighter.

Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann, August 22, 2014

Friday September 4, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Add a little Einsteinium (Atomic Symbol ES)

Back to back weeks of Jeffrey is a new twist on Friday, but the theme of adding ES to the end of the second word of an in the language phrase to completely change the phrase is a classic. (Concise!) The awesome part is that each phrase also completely changes the sound of the second word as well as its meaning. The new phrases are clued with humor. The central grid spanner gives the puzzle a nice appearance. We have all the letters but Q and Z so there are many fun words in the fill plus JW's usual two word fill. CAJOLED, FEEL BAD,  GENESES, NEW MATH, GAME FACE,  IN UNISON,  MILANESE, OLIVE PIT are the features.

17A. Affectionate moniker for a holy river? : OUR GANGES (9).  This GROUP morphs into the RIVER.

31A. Duffer's nineteenth-hole litany? : GOLF GRIPES (10). The grip becomes the complaint for the golfer.

37A. Where some climbers take smoking breaks? : CIGARETTE BUTTES (15). My favorite where the remnant of a cigarette becomes a  thing of BEAUTY.

44A. Highlights of the hippo ballet in "Fantasia"? : JUMBO JETES (10). Ah the 747 becomes this CLASSIC.

62A. Milliseconds? : TINY TIMES (9). Do you think of the Christmas Carol or Herbert Khaury? 

Well enough of the silliness let's get to solving.

Across:

1. Big name in arcades : SEGA.  They lost out to the others like Xbox and Wii in the home gaming but dominate the arcade MARKET.

5. Show pride : BEAM. When you look at a parent watching a child you can see the beam.

9. Speck : ATOM.

13. A or B, in preparations : PLAN.

14. Hard to watch : UGLY. Perhaps this might explain the CLUE.

15. Baseball commissioner emeritus Bud : SELIG.

19. Entry mechanism : STILE. For all you subway riders, this was a gimme.

20. Less prosaic : ODDER.

21. Canceled (out) : XED.

23. __-Picone: women's fashion label : EVAN. Last week it was Anne Klein.

24. Have regrets : FEEL BAD.

27. High court delivery : LOB. Tennis court in honor of the US Open going on now.

29. Storm dir. : ENE.

30. Job application ID : SSN.

34. Eponymous physicist James : JOULE. I found him fascinating, his career was not as a scientist but as a BREWER.

36. Star __: Asian spice : ANISE. And a controversial Herbal TEA.

42. "What's in __?" : A NAME? JW loves him Shakespeare.

43. Town in a 1945 Pulitzer-winning novel : ADANO. John Hersey novel.

47. WWII female : WAC.

50. "You're the __ That I Want": "Grease" song : ONE.

51. Nursery purchase : SOD.

52. 1960s educational experiment : NEW MATH.

55. Spirit : LIFE.

57. 22-Down sound : YIP.

59. Vital vessel : AORTA.

60. Amazon transaction, e.g. : E-SALE.

65. Port array : DOCKS.

66. "Amarantine" musician : ENYA.

67. Kick back : REST. I see it more as relax.

68. With 6-Down, savings : NEST. Gratuitous referential.

69. It contains diamonds : DECK. Good clue.

70. Deco designer : ERTE. Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials, per wiki.

Down:

1. "SNL" staples : SPOOFS.

2. Loses, in a way : ELUDES.

3. Plant manager's domain? : GARDEN. Really fun misdirection.

4. Clarence Odbody, in a Capra classic : ANGEL. A wonderful character..

5. Cookout item : BUN. HBG or HD?

6. See 68-Across : EGG.

7. Author Haley : ALEX.

8. Whitman's "Song of __" : MYSELF. Last week he sent Poetry in motion, this week a POEM which I dedicate to the memory of Clear Ayes.

9. Braying beast : ASS.

10. Cabeza, across the Pyrenees : TETE. French equivalent of the Spanish for head.

11. Tapenade discard : OLIVE PIT. A discovery of southern France next to Italy and the land where they speak...

12. Lombardy dialect : MILANESE.

16. Points of origin : GENESES. The Latin plural of Genesis. A different use of ES.

18. NYSE trader : ARBitrage.

22. It may be a toy : DOG. Tricky for such a short fill.

25. Fluish symptoms : AGUE.

26. Doofus : DOLT.

28. Procter & Gamble brand : BRAUN. The razor PEOPLE.

32. Sic on : LET AT.

33. Fascinated by : INTO.

34. Entrance support : JAMB. Door jamb.

35. "Watch how wonder unfolds" snacks : OREOS.

37. Said "Pretty please" to, say : CAJOLED. Straight out of the French Cajoler.

38. Harmoniously : IN UNISON.

39. Determined countenance : GAME FACE. What a great fill; I have seen many game faces in so many different settings outside of sports.

40. Fall setting : EDEN. Oh this is devilishly clever, the fall of man.

41. Foundation : BASE.

45. Exultation : JOY.

46. Found the right words for, maybe : EDITED. I really like this clue.

47. More affable : WARMER. A tricky clue for simple fill.

48. Swear : ATTEST.

49. Unsullied : CHASTE. Not the word I would think of for these UNSULLIED.

53. Angkor __: Cambodian temple : WAT. This is only a recent gimme: A wat (Thai: วัด wat Lao: ວັດ vad, Khmer: វត្ត wōat) is a monastery-temple in Thailand, Cambodia or Laos. The term is borrowed from Sanskrit vāṭa "enclosure" per wiki.

54. Wavy pattern : MOIRE. From the French moi·ré meaning rippled.

56. Organization name selected over "Buffalos" in a close 1868 vote : ELKS. The BPOE voted 8 to 7. They have counted many Presidents of the US in their membership.

58. Yearn : PINE. This is an interesting word because along with desire, it can signal withering away. From the Latin poena, penalty, from Greek poinē;

61. 63-Down hrs. : EST.

63. Tumblr HQ site : NYC.

64. Jaw : YAK. I guess it is time for me to stop  yakking and wish you all a happy long weekend and Labor Day. Thanks Jeffrey and all the Corner. Lemonade out.